Tire.



n May 14, 1918.

ninos.,

GEORGE LENNON' KAVANAGH, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CNADA.

TIR-E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 14, 1918.

Application led July 25, 1914. Serial No, 853,144.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE LnnNoN KMX-innen, a citizen of the Dominion of Canada, and resident of the city of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec and D0- minion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tires, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in tires, and the object is to provide a simple and durable tire Which does not depend upon compressed air for its resiliency.

A further object is to provide a tire which may be adjusted according to the load to which it is subjected.

The invention consists essentially in providing a substantially solid tire having a comparatively small opening in the approximate center thereof, so disposed and arranged that attening of the tire under load tends to close this opening, which closing tendency is resist-ed by the elasticity of the materials surrounding the opening.

In the drawings which illustrate the invention:-

Figure l is a cross sectional vieu1 of the tire.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are cross sectional views of various forms of filler used for tires subjected to heavy loads.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 5 designates a casing of substantially the usual form and structure, that is to say,

built up of fabric layers vulcanized in rubber. Within the casing is a filler 6 vulcanized to the casing over the entire or nearly the entire surface. This filling is of rubber orother suitable material softer and more elastic than the material used in the casing. The :Eller 6 is formed with an opening 7 of diamond or elliptical shape in cross section, extending entirely around the tire. This opening or channel 7 may be entered from the inner periphery of the tire by separating the Walls of a. slit 8 Which extends from the inner periphery of the tire to the channel 7. The opening may also be provided on the outer and inner sides With grooves 9 extending into the material of the filling. The passage 7 may be left vacant in the case of a tire adapted for light loads, but if heavier loads are to be supported, a secondary filling may be inserted in the channel 7. This filling may be of rubber or the like, softer and more elastic than the lling 6,

and of any of the forms shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4l. The filler 10, shown in Fig. 2, is circular in cross section, and is free to move in the channel 7 When inserted. The filler shown in Fig. 3 is circular in form, but provided with a flange 12 adapted to engage the outer groove 9 and hold the filler against lateral movement in the channel. This filler is adapted for heavier loads than the iiller 10.

The filler 13 shown in Fig. s is adapted for still heavier loads, and is partially circular in form, being provided with a rib 12 similar to the filler l1, and With an addiL tional rib 14e adapted to engage the inner groove 9. This filler 13 is provided with a flattened base 15 of increased area which rests securely against the inner Wall of the channel. sired by separating the Walls of the slit 8 apart in exactly the same manner that the pneumatic tube is inserted in the ordinary casing.

The operation of the device is extremely simple. The cross section shape of the channel 7 is approximately that of a full elliptic spring, the casing and filling 6 around the channel representing the material of the spring itself. 'When the tire is under load, the portion thereof resting on the ground tends to flatten, thus partially closing the channel 7 in exactly the same Way that an elliptic spring flattens under load. This closing tendency of the channel sets up a number of stresses in the inaterial of the tire, which are resisted by its elastic nature. The portion of the filling outside the channel is subjected to compression and flexion combined, While the portions of the filling inside the channel are subjected to elongation and flexion. These two opposite actions tend to return the channel and tire to normal form, and thus impart the desired resiliency. In addition to this, the tread portion of the casing is subjected to the usual flattening and bending stresses, While the side po-rtions are under tension. When the fillers shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4t or any other form of fillers are used, they form compression members between the inner and outer Walls of the channel, and tend to resist the fiattening of the tire in exactly the same Way as the helical cushion springs sometimes found inserted in elliptic springs. Thus,the lling 6 has the same e'ect as a multitude of small elliptic springs placed around the rim of a wheel The fillers are inserted when deloo with their longitudinal axes parallel with the axis of vthe Wheel.

It is obvious that the tire is not subject to puncture7 and is not nearly so liable to riin cutting and other troubles as a tire which is under heavy internal pressure. All portions of4 the material not actually under load are at rest instead of being under constant load, as is the case with pneumatic or other fluid filled tires, so that the life ot the material is greatly increased. The lilling being` vulcanized or cemented in the easingforms an integral part thereof, so that no relative movement occurs between the filling and the easing, and thus niuch of the heating due to movement between the outer and inner tubes or' the ordinary tire is prevented.

Having. thus described my invention, what l claim iszl. A tire ot the character' described,Y co1nprising a casing, a iilling therein having an annular passage therein substantially diamond-shaped in cross-section with grooves extending troni two Vertical points of the diamond, and a resilient annular filler in said passage having ribs for engagement with said grooves.

2. ,l tire of the character described conil'n'ising a easing, a filling therein haring an annular passage therein substantially7 diainond shape in cross section With grooves extending :troni two Vertical points of the diamond, and a resilient iiller in said passage, said filler Comprising an annular ineinber held vertically in said passage by engagement of its inner and outer peripheries with said grooves and lateral enlargements on each side of said member Whose surfaces are partly plane and partly curved.

ln Witness whereof, l have hereunto set injf hand, in the presenCe of two Witnesses.

YEOBGE LENNON KAVANGH. lllitn esses S. R. llf. ALLEN, G. lvl. Monnnn'r.

Genies ot this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, I). GJ 

